Exit for ‘Bonnie and Clyde’

Musical to close Dec. 30

Cue the hail of bullets: Broadway tuner “Bonnie and Clyde” will end its short life at the end of the year.

Move was looking likely in the wake of the critical pans the musical earned following its Dec. 1 opening. Soon thereafter producers cut off ticket availability to all shows beyond Dec. 30, but at the time they were still debating whether to keep the production going through the traditionally grim January frames.

Sales have been slow for “Bonnie,” with weekly sales tallies never getting much above $400,000 — a low number for Broadway-scale tuner and all the running costs that go with it.

Show reps the second quick flop on the Rialto for composer Frank Wildhorn following the quick exit of “Wonderland” in the spring. That production also shuttered about a month after it opened.

Wildhorn has long been a punching bag for Gotham critics, with previous tuners “Dracula” and “The Civil War” beating hasty retreats. However, one show, 1997 offering “Jekyll and Hyde,” carved out a run of close to four years, and “The Scarlet Pimpernel” played Gotham, in a series of updated revisions, over a period of about two years.

In contrast to the consistent snubs in New York, Wildhorn’s work has proven notably popular among regional auds and touring presenters. Such potentially profitable post-Broadway incarnations can help producers recoup losses from a Gotham flop.

Based on the life story of the famous outlaws, “Bonnie and Clyde” has lyrics by Don Black and book by Ivan Menchell. Jeff Calhoun helms a cast that includes Laura Osnes and Jeremy Jordan.

Show had its world preem at San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse in 2009, followed by a 2010 staging as Asolo Repertory Theater in Sarasota, Fla.

Closing of “Bonnie” leaves thesp Jordan available to return to “Newsies,” the Disney Theatrical tuner in which Jordan starred earlier this year at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. Well-received show is set to land on Broadway in a run that begins in March.